MICHAEL LEWIS-STEVEN JOHNS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 5th DCA | 2019-05-10
No. 18-1877
Howard, J., Orfinger, J., Cohen, J., Wallis, J.
273 So. 3d 214 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2019) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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Holding

Trial counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that the trial court improperly considered unsubstantiated matters regarding the defendant's psychopathy at sentencing, violating the defendant's due process rights.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant's due process rights are violated when a trial court considers unsubstantiated matters at sentencing, and the failure of trial counsel to preserve such an iss…

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Key Quotes

“A defendant's due process rights are violated when a trial court considers unsubstantiated matters at sentencing.”

The court's statement of the legal standard governing consideration of matters at sentencing.

Facts & Procedural History

Michael Lewis-Steven Johns appealed the denial of his motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Johns argued th…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

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Opinion of the Court
Wallis

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FIFTH DISTRICT

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO

FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND

DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

MICHAEL LEWIS-STEVEN JOHNS,

Appellant,

v. Case No. 5D18-1877

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee.

________________________________/

Opinion filed May 10, 2019

3.850 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Citrus County, Richard A. Howard, Judge.

Michael Lewis Steven-Johns, Malone, pro se.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Nora Hutchinson Hall, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Michael Lewis-Steven Johns appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm the trial court’s order without comment except as to claim three. As to that claim, we reverse.

In claim three, Johns argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to argue that the trial court improperly considered impermissible matters—his “psychopathy” and

As such, we reverse the trial court’s summary denial of claim three. On remand, the trial court should either attach additional records to conclusively refute the claim or hold an evidentiary hearing. The court must then decide whether Johns has established that his counsel’s performance was deficient and if he was prejudiced as a result. See Grosvenor v. State, 874 So. 2d 1176, 1178 (Fla. 2004).

AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED.

ORFINGER, COHEN and WALLIS, JJ., concur.

Footnotes
2 that he might “be a budding psychopath” when there was no evidence to support the trial court’s observations. A defendant’s due process rights are violated when a trial court considers unsubstantiated matters at sentencing. See McGill v. State, 148 So. 3d 531, 531-32 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014) (citing Crouse v. State, 101 So. 3d 901, 903 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)). The failure to preserve such an issue for appeal may well be ineffective assistance of counsel.

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